Hidradenitis Suppurativa

What a difference a day makes…

The past couple months and particularly past couple weeks have been physically, mentally and emotionally challenging. This is due to this process of transitioning to the new biologic and waiting for it to take effect. This experience has caused me to reflect on what the Bible says at Pro. 13:12 “expectation postponed makes the heart sick.”

This waiting period definitely hasn’t been easy. Last week was no exception, Thurs and fri in particular. Experiencing pain and discomfort that I haven’t had since before beginning the humira treatment last year has challenged my endurance.

I had a good ten months on the humira that gave me relief and freedom I hadn’t had in 17yrs. It was a new and welcome experience!!

THE CAVEAT – The DAILY mental and physical battle living with this horrible disease is no small feat..by any means!!! It takes the strength Jehovah gives me and a lot of self determination not to give up! My pre-Humira days often left me with ideologies of dying…no attempts but actual fantasies of not waking up. So again, along with the pain, this had greatly subsided.

With that background info, fast forward to now having regressed waiting for these meds to kick in….Yeah, 100 times the mental struggle!!! It reminds me of the expression that you can’t miss what you never had.

Thurs/Fri I awakened with the feeling of a mega paper cut in the back crease of my right armpit, an inflamed cyst on my left ribcage and a lot of soreness in my groin. I was soooooooo over it!

Despite all this crappiness, I still had it in mind that I wanted to go in service sat as well as my mtg and lunch Sunday. I’m determined when I have a plan and intentions.💪🏾💪🏾. Jehovah built me this way. ❤️ Saturday morning, my alarm sounded and my discomfort had greatly subsided. I was able to get ready and go in my ministry…IT WAS A GREAT TIME!!! I couldn’t stop thanking Jehovah. I worked with my awesome sister Lydia and we grabbed lunch after.🥰🥰🫂🫂🫂..it was perfect for how I was feeling! Jehovah knew I needed that. Yesterday I was able to attend my meeting and have a nice lunch with a friend. It was a good day.😊 I’m very thankful.

Jehovah has his perfect time for when he’s going to soon wipe all suffering away. There are going to be good and bad days, but I’m going to keep fighting to keep fighting.💪🏾🙏🏾❤️

Today is week 8 injection 5 of the Bimzelx. Still waiting for it to work as it seemingly has for others with HS. I honestly thought I’d see improvement within the first few weeks, but I’m still waiting.

My derm said he wants to give it the full 16 weeks before making an assessment, perhaps I’m just slow to respond. My hope and prayer is that this isn’t going to prove to be ineffective for me.🙏🏾😔

I signed on to a support meeting for HS last night, that was hosted by my dermatologist. His breakdown of the three approved biologics for HS, gave me some insight. I tried Humira first back in March of 2025. Humira is what’s called a TNF blocker(tumor necrosis factor). It worked for me within weeks. Unfortunately , it seemed to stop working a couple months ago leading to me switching to Bimzelx. Bimzelx isn’t a tnf blocker. It blocks what’s called aisle 17 a and f inflammation sources.

My doctor honestly stated that I could very well experience my inflammation from tnf, but he has to give the bimzelx time before being absolute on that. Oy! I’m trying to keep my focus and energy on the Bimzelx just taking it’s time to kick in. Continuing to hope and pray.🙏🏾

Today will be injection number four. This needs to be the money shot!

Thank you for your prayers!💉💊🩹🙏🏾

Tomorrow will mark week five being on my new biologic, Bimzelx. 2-6 weeks is the time period where most seem to notice improvement. I’m not entirely sure of how the process is working with me.

I’ve noticed an increase in drainage from two areas in particular, but I’m unsure if it’s the workings/process of the medicine or purely draining flares. My prayer is to be patient and allow myself time to see improvement…within reason of course. I’m trusting Jehovah to answer my prayers for great improvement and no impactful side effects.

In the meantime, I’ve been continuing to live and look for as well as create moments for joy. I appreciate Jehovah giving me the will and spirit to not be overtaken by my life challenges.( Prov. 24:10)He also has given me people in my life that make some of these happy moments possible.(Pro.17:17)

Three weekends ago I was able to have some friends over my sister Lori’s home and then spend some extra days with her. There’s a great joy and satisfaction I derived from being with people I care about and seeing them enjoy themselves. (Acts 20:35) Last weekend I was able to attend my meeting with some friends followed by lunch. That was very refreshing. It does a lot for my spirit to be with those that are doing their best to stick to the formula… persevering in service to Jehovah despite life’s trials. It’s a nudge to my soul to keep going!

Yesterday I hosted my field service group for a meal at my sister Lydia’s home, and that made for a nice day.

I in no way doubt that Jehovah takes note that I’m striving to conquer and not be conquered. I greatly appreciate his hand in keeping me where I need to be, with those I need to be with and doing what I need to do. 🙏🏾

Today is my first dose of Bimzelx. I’ll no longer be taking Humira. Praying Jehovah allows this medication to be very helpful for the long term and not cause bothersome side effects.🙏🏾💉

1. Spent a week with my sister Leah. I enjoyed hanging out, watching movies, chatting and sharing in the ministry with her. It’s uplifting to my spirit to be with her and see her zeal to serve and preach about our heavenly Father Jehovah.

2. Got approved for a new biologic, Bimzelx. This was prescribed as it seems the efficacy of Humira is waning for me. I’m planning to stop the humira and begin the Bimzelx in a couple weeks.

3. Made plans to fly to Georgia to see my sister-friend Leslie. Hoping this won’t be thwarted with all the airport issues.

4. Had a beautiful and spiritually enriching weekend sharing in the campaign for the upcoming special discourse, “Who will restore the earth?” as well as the memorial of Christ death.

An ever occuring thought for me in these past weeks, has been to “Follow the formula.” By that I mean, abide by and stick to the spiritual activities Jehovah tells us to engage in. This life is far from what our loving creator Jehovah intended for it to be, but the contentment, peace and satisfaction that result from regularly studying his word, attending Christian meetings, preaching to others and being around those that are doing the same, is beyond fulfilling! I’m so thankful for being able to see this for myself and reap the benefits. Jehovah is truly awesome!🫂🙏🏾💪🏾☺️

A year ago today I received my first Humira injection. Time truly goes by quickly!

After years of being hesitant because of side effects, I decided to give it a try. Humira gave me a notable measure of relief and stamina to do things I hadn’t for many years.

Ironically, at this one year mark, I’m in the process of trying to get approved for another biologic to treat my HS. Being in tune with my body, I feel the effectiveness of the Humira is decreasing.

Bimzelx is a recently approved drug that has some good reviews within my HS community. My prayer is to be approved and have increased and long lasting benefits from this new drug.🙏🏾🙏🏾

Mondays aren’t typically considered a day to celebrate. I however, am celebrating in my spirit after the resolve of a flare on my buttocks that made it impossible to sit!!

March will mark a year of being on Humira, and while it has helped significantly, it’s not a cure. It’s imperative that I proceed with the same caution and consciousness that I did before the medication.

This consciousness demands that I manage what I take into my spirit, just as much as what I ingest physically. With Jehovah’s help and a solid support system, I generally acknowledge, process and work through my issues pretty well, but the fact remains that I’m human, and sometimes life is a lot to contend with.

As mentioned before, Humira has been a great drug for managing my Hidradenitis, but life’s stresses led to me flaring in my chest, right buttocks over these past two weeks or so, and somewhat of a In-N-Out game with one that I’ve had for a while in my groin area.

The chest area opened some days ago thankfully. It’s still a little sore, but that’s to be expected. My behind, however, has been the most challenging, stubborn and painful area since a flare I had in 2017. The medicine greatly decreases the discomfort, but it’ll likely always give me a hard time.

After many prayers, topical concoctions and the prayers of my family, I awakened to a disgustingly  wonderful puddle of pus and blood in my bed under pad!😁😁🥳🥳🙏🏾🙏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

I thank Jehovah and my support team for helping me through ❣️

1. You can see the cyst, large enough for you to palm, surrounded by scar tissue and damaged skin from old flares.
2. Another pic of right buttocks.
3. Drainage on underpaid.
4. Blood on chuck I keep on my floor.
5. More drainage
6. Clean chuck I found on my bed, after my dear nephew cleaned up while I showered. 🥰😘🫂💓

All that said, we’re calling this a good day! Mental reset, prayer, moving and operating wisely and being mindful. Psalms 55:22.

One would wonder about the significance of a water bottle, and what makes it a picture worth posting.

Backstory – This past Sunday our refrigerator conked out 🤦🏾. The freezer was no longer freezing and the refrigerator later gave out as well. I was able to order a replacement, but in the meantime, foodstuffs needed to be preserved. Delivery wouldn’t be made until today.

To know James Devon Rivera, is to know that he fully embodies the good-heartedness, character, helpfulness and tangible love of his mother. He’s my heart!

In response to the situation. He gathered and bagged food from the refrigerator and freezer, placing them outside in a covered container to benefit from the freezing temperature. I so appreciate how he’s always at the ready to step in!

Not having the normal comforts of life calls for adapting pivoting. One way I had to adapt the past couple days, was not having my frozen waters. Little did I know that my sweet baby boy had put waters outside, in addition to the food. It was soooooooooo nice having him bring that to me yesterday evening. I thoroughly enjoyed it.🥰 He’s my mini ride or die and ALWAYS has been.

I love you James Devon Rivera! Thank you for always having your auntie’s back!

At a time when many have lost and are losing medical benefits, I’m very thankful to have been notified that my Humira will be covered for the 2026 calendar year. This is no small thing and I thank Jehovah for this.

My sister Lori, working with insurance companies etc on a daily basis, advised me a couple times in the past months to make sure everything was set in place for my continued coverage. I appreciate this, because once again, nothing in this temporary but very messed up system is promised. However, I received my notification today.🙏🏾🥰 💉

I’m also thankful to have my little 2002 Camry still running for its momma. I was able to get her oil changed and tires rotated. I was due to bring it in the early morning hours on Friday, but they let me bring it Thursday afternoon. Lori followed so that I only had to utilize Uber once when picking it up yesterday and allowed me to rest longer. These are all big things to me. They cause me to reflect on the stabilizing, supportive and invaluable presence of those people that live out their lives in such a way where I know I can consistently rely on them…..EVEN IF I NEVER HAVE TO. I in turn strive to continue living my life by the highest standards of my God Jehovah so that I can do the same.🙏🏾